Anazapta

As others have said,a somewhat confusing storyline , but there's no denying that it feels like you're there in medieval times whilst watching. They manage to conjure up a very convincing atmosphere. Whilst set in England, it was actually filmed on location in Wales at two locations. The case are uniformly excellent, and if it weren't for the messy storyline, this would be a corker. Still worth a watch. I note the running time is stated as 1 hr 55 mins, but my French blu ray only runs for 1hr 48mins ,so I wonder if its been edited?

5/22/18. I only watched this because Headey was in it. Other than that the sets and costumes were nice, but the plot was not that great. Could have been better.

Lena Headey is the perfect jewel for this mesmerizing film. She is surrounded by a great cast whose menacing and troubled characters make you shiver as if from the winter's cold. The film is bleak, brutal and thanks to Headey's seductive allure, utterly compelling. Both she and the film are more than worth the price of a ticket.

"Anazapta" is one of those movies about the medieval times which does not have any characters boasting a bright, ultra-white-teeth Hollywood smile. The whole so to say "medievalness" is shown very naturally, i.e. people are dirty, rude, there's violence and brief nudity, etc. And this is great. This is the only thing that provides the movies with above the average rating IMHO. The story is twisted just perfectly for ending-guessers to figure out the grand finale some 20 to 15 minutes before time, but the very ending scene has left me wondering. Anyway, in my TV-program the film was described as a historical thriller and thriller it was indeed.

Don't let the sexy video title get your hopes up, the famous plague is only mentioned in passing. But Lena Headey cuts a handsome figure in period dress and a chastity belt kowtowing to a sweaty-faced Iain MacNeice as a patriarch resembling Jabbah the Hutt proudly flourishing his huge collection of medieval porn.

Extremely contemporary swearing is used along with a smattering of French and archaic expressions like "Let's see you smirking with a noose around your neck", while the viewer is regaled with copious quantities of gore and sights like limbs breaking off, lots of bad teeth and flesh covered in pustules, and a character with a false nose who declares that "If the Lord was good enough to put a hole in my face who am I not to use it?"

The use of slow motion already looks dated and the cast all take it all a lot more seriously than you probably will.